Quincy detail cop witnesses carjacking, suspect arrested

When a Quincy police officer on a work detail saw a young woman knocked to the ground by a departing car, he called the police. As it turned out, his quick action helped lead to the arrest of a Chelsea man two hours later.

When Quincy police officer Ryan Donnelly saw a young woman get knocked to the ground by a departing car as he was on a work site detail in Quincy Center Monday afternoon, he did what any cop would do – he called the police.

As it turned out, his quick action helped lead to the arrest of a Chelsea man in Dorchester two hours later.

Lt. Jack Sullivan said Tuesday morning that Walter C. Hairston, 53, faces multiple motor vehicle and larceny charges from the alleged carjacking, in which he reportedly knocked the car's 22-year-old, female owner to the pavement as she tried to stop him from driving away on Hancock Street.

Sullivan said Hairston's charges include carjacking for theft of the 2001 Toyota Rav 4, assault by means of a deadly weapon – the car – larceny of cash and credit cars, and malicious destruction to a motor vehicle. He'll be arraigned Tuesday in Quincy District Court.

Sullivan said Boston police found a freshly-loaded syringe on the ground at the arrest site, as well as a bag of unused syringes in the Toyota.

He said Hairston also has numerous outstanding warrants from outside Quincy.

Sullivan said the victim, who was visiting Quincy from out of town, had just gotten back into the Toyota at 12:30 p.m. Monday, as it was parked at 1359 Hancock St., near City Hall.

She told police that a man whom she later identified as Hairston stopped outside the car and gestured to her. When she rolled down the window, he said "Your car's leaking fluid."

"When she got out of the car, he jumped in," Sullivan said. As he started the engine, the victim reached in to grab the steering wheel, to try and stop the car.

"We don't advise that," Sullivan said.

Sullivan said Donnelly was on detail nearby when he saw the victim get knocked to the street as Hairston drove away – so he called for other officers. Sullivan said the victim declined medical treatment at the scene.

The victim said her iPhone and wallet were in the car, so police began tracking the car's location with an app on the phone. Boston police picked up the trail when the app showed it traveled to Dorchester and Mattapan.

After spotting the Toyota in a supermarket parking lot, Sullivan said, Boston police stopped the car in the Grove Hall neighborhood of Dorchester shortly before 3 p.m. Quincy officers took the victim there to identify Hairston, and she said, "That's him." Sullivan said she also confirmed that the iPhone and credit cards found in Hairston's jacket pocket belonged to her.